Reporters love to complain about the all-star game. Many of them will tell you it's a boring game and should be drastically changed. I too use to think that until two years ago when in a flash of NHL all-star game festivities, my son changed. Prior to that game, he couldn't care less about hockey. Now we goto about one hockey game live per week. We watch every game on the tube. He watches sports channels only. He plays hockey 5 times per week and wants more. I also built a backyard icerink, which he uses several times per week.
In two years, he went from never having played a game to a top player in his age group; scoring 16 goals in 16 games. I'm sure this story isn't unique. The all-star game rocks.